Al-Assad blamed for chaos

France also places blame on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has fought a civil war against rebels working to overthrow his autocratic rule and whose forces have also struck civilians.

“Civilians must be protected against all forms of violence. They must be protected against the violence of Daesh (ISIS) and other terrorist groups, but also against the deadly bombing of Bashar al-Assad,” the statement from the French presidency read.

France has been in talks with Russia about a political solution in Syria.

“Russia supports the regime of Bashar (al) Assad. But it also wants to find a political solution. And anyway, there will not be any political solution without a dialogue with all of the parties who directly or indirectly are involved with Syria,” Valls said.

France also planned to hold talks about Syria with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.